FCC delays crucial meeting

The Federal Communications Commission is pushing back its scheduled December open meeting from Dec. 15 to Dec. 21 — a six-day change that gives the agency extra time to decide its next move on Net neutrality.

All eyes have been on the agency amid speculation it might seek to adopt new rules next month that would require Internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally.

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The FCC customarily releases a draft of its agenda three weeks before its open meeting. But had the FCC kept its original Dec. 15 date, Chairman Julius Genachowski would have needed to circulate its agenda by Wednesday, just as lawmakers and tech leaders departed Washington for Thanksgiving.

It is still unclear whether the Genachowski will move on Net neutrality this year, and the new meeting date does not automatically ensure it will be on the docket. But if the agency does ultimately seek to take action in December, he now has until Nov. 30 to circulate its proposal to the other four commissioners.

"An extra week will help us evaluate potential agenda items for December," an FCC spokeswoman told POLITICO on Wednesday.

POLITICO reported last week that Genachowski and his staff were exploring putting a Net neutrality order on its December agenda, sparking intense discussions in telecom circles about what the proposal might look like.

The agency at first dismissed those ruminations as pure speculation. But Genachowski's staff on Monday resumed meeting with top telecom and public interest stakeholders, presumably as part of a final effort to broker an agreement that parties might find amenable.

Even before that process began, top House Republicans staked their claim in the debate, criticizing the agency for moving on Internet rules, especially as lawmakers are away for the holidays. Each of the potential GOP chairmen of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the FCC, sternly warned the agency to back down on Net neutrality.

Still, many signs point to Genachowski raising the matter sooner rather than later. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast noted Tuesday that the chairman "remains interested in building on the Net neutrality provisions developed by Rep. [Henry] Waxman (D-Calif.)," who crafted his proposal shortly before Congress departed before the election break.

However, Democrats who supported Waxman's plan failed to win over skeptical Republicans, some of whom later threatened instead to curtail the FCC's broadband authority.